Meet Stephen Smith | Musician & Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Stephen Smith and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Stephen, what makes you happy? Why?
Some of the happiest times I’ve had have been enjoying live music with friends in a hyped-up crowd. Experiencing a musical act that I’m passionate about and being with a group of strangers who feel the same way creates a unique euphoria for me that’s hard to find elsewhere. I think part of the feeling is this massive culmination of unconditional love towards the sound and the inherent sense of belonging that comes from that, even if you don’t speak a word to anyone around you.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
The way my music career has gone has been a perfect example of a non-linear progression. Though I took piano lessons for five years or so as a kid, I didn’t have musical discipline for most of my younger life and didn’t start developing such until college really. And even then it has been at least ten years of teaching myself audio engineering and picking up my steps with musical theory and genre comprehension. I’ve doubted myself a lot along the way, since it has taken me awhile to learn certain things and to get my music out there, but I’ve truly always enjoyed the act of musical creation and engineering audio. It helps that I’m a huge music nerd, and through sheer mass exposure to a variety of music I’ve picked up different ways to curate vibes. I’m just glad that I eventually grew up and realized that I had to have more discipline and organization to achieve my dreams, and moving to Los Angeles from New England has been key in advancing the quality of my craft. My advice is to completely get away from everything familiar to see who you really are and what you really want.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
When I have someone visit there are some immediate must-see places I’ve been frequenting since I moved here. Breakfast at C & M on Overland St. is a perfect cafe vibe that reminds me of indie-style breakfast places I would go to in Burlington, Vermont. They have plenty of tasty unique breakfast sandwich and burrito options as well as coffee drinks (Nutella Mocha and Chagaccino to name a couple). Just down the street is the Kogi Taqueria, a Korean-Mexican fusion food truck that was once featured by Anthony Bourdain and praised for its World Famous Short Rib burrito. Living down the street from it takes some restraint, but I’m not complaining. For the outdoors I love to drive over to Marina Del Rey beach, or toward Malibu to hike the trails at Los Liones that overlook the coastline. I also think it’s worth it for anyone to hike up to the Hollywood sign from the Bronson Caves side if they are looking for a solid day hike.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have to give a shout out to my good friend and fellow musician Nakisso Peralta. He was one of the first people I met when I moved out to L.A. and was immediately welcoming and positive to be around. I don’t think I would’ve played nearly as many shows in the past year if it wasn’t for his generosity and good word on my music. Nakisso recently put on the first iteration of a music festival called New High Theory and I was lucky enough to perform in it, on the same bill as his project Chiller’s Inc. It’s people like him who give me hope about the future of the music scene and the community that can surround it.

Website: https://linktr.ee/lapis_pop

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